San Bernardino Peak Trail via Angelus Oaks

San Bernardino Peak Trail via Angelus Oaks is a 15.8 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Angelus Oaks, California that features a river and is rated as difficult. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from June until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

dogs on leash

backpacking

camping

hiking

nature trips

trail running

forest

river

views

wildlife

bugs

rocky

snow

One of the best-kept secrets of Southern California is San Bernardino Mountain. Just five miles away from the highest peak in SoCal - San Gorgonio - San Bernardino tops out at a respectable 10,649 feet. Hiking from Angelus Oaks, this 15-mile out-and-back trail climbs over 4,700 vertical feet. It makes for a very long day hike or a great weekend backpacking trip.
This trail has amazing views that begin very early in the hike. San Bernardino Peak is one of the lesser known (and lesser traveled) peaks in SoCal, providing a nice break from the more crowded trails like Mount San Antonio.
There are three distinct sections to this trail. The first section climbs steadily up well-engineered switchbacks through oak and pine forest. You gain a lot of elevation quickly, but the trail is smooth and not too steep.
The second section gently climbs through manzanita, with beautiful views to the north towards Big Bear.
The trail beings to climb up the final slope as you near Limber Pines. There is a small seasonal creek that you'll cross about 1/2 mile before Limber Pines.
Limber Pines is where the weekend backpackers often setup camp, and it makes a great place for a break before your final climb.
The third and final section follows switchbacks up the steep slope to Washington's Monument, then parallels the ridge to the top of San Bernardino Peak.

Angeles Oaks Trailhead Parking

The first challenge with this trail is finding the trailhead parking. Look for the Angeles Oaks fire station, and turn left on the frontage road. You'll see the most detailed road sign.
You'll find the gravel trailhead parking at the end of a bumpy 1/4 mile dirt-and-gravel road. You can drive it in a sedan with caution, but a high clearance vehicle is advisable. Or you can park in town and walk the extra 1/4 mile.
There are no restroom facilities at the trailhead or anywhere along the trail.

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The North Face

The north face of Cucamonga Peak holds snow late into the season. It's not unusually to find wide sections covering the trail well into June.

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Washington Monument

This monument has nothing to do with our first president. In 1852, Colonel Henry Washington and his Army survey party were directed to erect a monument atop San Bernardino Peak. The monument was the east-west reference point from which all future surveys of Southern California were taken.

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San Bernardino Peak

This peak isn't the tallest in SoCal, but it's a respectable hike. Congratulations, you've hiked up nearly 5,000 vertical feet!
If you have the time and energy, you can continue east on along the ridge another .5 miles to the slightly higher East San Bernardino Peak.
Looking down to the south is Mill Creek and Forest Falls, the trailhead for the nearby Vivian Creek trail to San Gorgonio.
Rest, enjoy your lunch, and retrace your steps to the Angelus Oaks trailhead.

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The trailhead parking requires an Adventure Pass. There is a message board and the ranger regularly posts updates ("rattlesnake seen on the trail" or "be sure to carry your permit"). Check the board for any special notices before heading up the only trailhead which begins just to the left.
Permits are required to hike this trail, even as a day hike, and group size is limited to a maximum of 12. Permits are free, and can be obtained from the San Bernardino National Forest Mill Creek Ranger Station in Mentone, 34701 Mill Creek Road or you can fax the permit request form to (909) 794-1125.

The trailhead is south of highway 38 in Angelus Oaks near the firestation. There is a sign posted for the trailhead in Angelus Oaks. The parking for the trailhead is roughly a half mile down a dirt road from the highway.

Great views. Spent a majority of the trail hiking in a cloud. When the sun came out, the snow became mushy and we post holed. Only made it four miles up before we decided to turn around because the snow was just too difficult to deal with. Will definitely return in the summer.

Hiked on 12/31/18TONS of snow. It was so deep I was post holing up to my thoighs. We made it past limber pine campground.... but soon after there were no footprints... we forged ahead with gps, but the snow was so deep we had to turn around without summiting.

This hike was perfect for an overnight trip. We started around 9am on Saturday and got to Lone Pine camp around 1:30. After resting for a little while we headed up to San Bernardino around 2:30 and got to the top a little after 4. The views were unbelievable with cloud cover at about 5,000 ft it looked like a blanket over the valley with picture perfect views of San Jacinto, San Gorgonio, Big Bear Lake, and Baldy a little further out.. There are a few ice patches before Lone pine but after the camp it is mostly crampon or micro spikes required. If you’re camping or need water the creek up about a quarter mile above lone pine is still flowing pretty strong. It is iced over by the trail but if you go up about 30ft you can access the water. The hike was pretty warm during the day but at night it got down to about 35 degrees. Worth the steep elevation gain and the cold temperatures for sure!

I completed this hike yesterday. It was an awesomely beautiful day with high clouds and a slight breeze. I started around 6:20 AM, summited around 10:30, had an hour lunch up top with a couple celebratory beers, and then was back down to the parking lot by 2:45 PM. About 7.5 hours total hiking time. The trail was relatively uncrowded and I only saw a couple dozen people all day. Timed the summit perfectly as I had it all to myself for several minutes until others arrived. San Jacinto was poking out of the mist but the views were almost unlimited in all directions. Could see Big Bear Lake to the north, Gorgonio nearby, Saddleback in the distance, and the Inland Empire in between.

The trail is very well defined and smooth. Towards the top, the trail gets a little rockier but for the most part, it is pretty smooth. Just steady uphill with a leveling off around Manzanita Flats before it starts climbing again. Nowhere near as steep as Baldy, just a steady if not relentless climb. Highly rewarding to get to the top as you traverse a lot of ground. The snow was all gone with the exception of an icy patch around 9,500 feet beyond the end of a switchback.

I should have added that I was the first one down. No one passed me. Two of the groups that were at the summit while I was there arrived at the trailhead about 20 minutes after I did. I think it's justified to call this a 9-10 hour hike for the majority of us.
And to clarify a potential issue: the difference between my mileage (17.3) and AllTrails (15.1) is 2.2 miles. That's more than an hour at my pace. So if I had relied on AllTrails numbers and started later, I could have been coming down in the dark.
I understand that it's difficult to accurately measure distance, even with a GPS in hand. But a chronic shortfall in reporting trail distances points to some issue.
Hikes in Patagonia are marked not by distance, but by the amount of time the able bodied elders in the community take to make the hike. That's a very useful metric. Not sure how to make that work here, other than honest reports.

Hiked this on Veterans Day. A heartfelt thanks to all who served.
Beautiful weather. A bit of wind but not as bad as predicted. The top was almost calm.
Definitely a workout. The manzanita plateau might have been my favorite part. Then the flats near John's Meadow marked with an ancient wheelbarrow.
Not too crowded, I only saw about 2 dozen people the whole day. Pretty good for a weekend.
My Garmin marked 17.3 miles roundtrip and TripSummit has it at 16.8 miles. The Garmin was spot on for vertical gain at 4600 ft.
Glad to see the previous reviewer post how long it took. Six hours is realistic in my opinion. It took me 5.5 hours to reach the summit, and 9.5 roundtrip. I passed three groups on the way up and kept pace with another. I assume they were the first to reach the summit that morning as I didn't see anyone on their down. I summited about 11:30 about 10 minutes after the first group. This was after a 6:15 start.
Great hike and I recommend doing it, but unless you are an extremely fit individual who is well acclimated to altitude, plan on a 10 hour trip to make sure you don't have to hike it in the dark if making the summit is important to you. Regardless, even a hike part way up is well worth it.
AllTrails, I (and from the reviews, several others) clock every hike you describe at a greater distance than stated. I feel this could cause someone a significant issue sometime. I paid for this service to help me plan. Inaccurate information doesn't fit well with that purpose.
Time to get up from your computers and get feet on the ground!

J F.

hiking

4 months ago

Completed this hike 11/10/18, weather was perfect and the views were amazing! Thanks to all who posted helpful tips on this hike. I found the information to be very helpful. Here’s a few additional tips that may help your hiking adventure to SB peak: I found this incredibly helpful locating the parking lot to the trail head: 34.14612, -116.97826 (thanks to who shared this on this app!!). You’ll need an Adventure Pass for this trail; however, permits are no longer required for day hikes (but recommended) www.sgwa.org. I did call to confirm information was correct. Always check with Ranger Station for changes and current trail updates before you go out. Dress in layers. We started at 6am and in the shade it was pretty chilly. You may find a hat and gloves helpful. Bring lots of water! I went through my 3L and 16oz Hydroflask before I finished. No snow on this trail and the spring water was frozen. The trail itself is very well maintained and easy to follow. The time it took my friend and I to summit was six hours. The first two miles’ish in the beginning I found most challenging on this entire hike. You’ll then go through the Manzanita’s which is fairly flat for quite awhile and you’ll end up at Limber Pines. Once you pass Limber Pines you’ll notice a steady gradual incline to the peak. At the peak, the views are beautiful. Very nice panoramic views of the mountain ranges and surrounding cities. Descending took us a little more than three hours. Of all the Six Pack of Peaks, this a top favorite! Happy hiking!

One of the best hikes I've done since I've lived here. Gorgeous vistas all along the way and pretty isolate. Camped 2 miles from the top, lots of camping spots, just have to go online and get a permit. They gave me mine the same day I applied so its quick, but it was also shoulder season. I would try to nab it at least 2-3 weeks beforehand during peak season to make sure you get a spot.

I was fortunate to cross this one off my list. We hiked it on Saturday (10/20/18).

Getting there: for most people it is going to be quite a drive unless you live in this area (obviously) which I do not. It took me about an hour and a half to get there from the Long Beach area since there was no traffic on a Saturday morning at 5 am and about 2 hrs to get home; the dirt road to the trailhead is near the Angelus Oaks Fire Station...the road is narrow and quite bumpy but I saw small cars handle it fine going slowly; the parking lot area was not crowded that early but it was quite crowded when we finished at 2 pm...Adventure Pass is needed

Trail- it is a pretty easy trail to follow and not get lost especially if you are using the ALL TRAILS app which is incredibly useful; the first 3 miles are steep but not too extreme (about 600-700 ft per mile) and then the trail flattens out a bit for the 4th mile and miles 5-8 are moderately steep with elevation gain of about 500-600 ft per mile; the scenery is beautiful and surprisingly green for what you may think San Bernardino to be like...lots of tall green trees and around the halfway part an open area with manzanita; beautiful views along the way in all directions of other nearby mountains, views of the Inland Empire, and a view of Big Bear Lake

Peak- I've read complaints of people complaining of obstructed views at the peak due to tree coverage but I didn't really find the views lacking from up there; there were only a few people at the top while we were there and we had a good time talking to our fellow hikers, enjoyed a Stella Artois celebratory drink, and took our pictures with the wooden sign and added our hiking group sticker to the box at the top; there were some patches of snow and ice along the trail on the final mile to the peak but no special equipment but hiking poles were helpful

My experience: I think we lucked out and had great conditions for our hike with temperatures in the 40's and 50's on a weekend when most cities at lower elevations were experiencing temps in the 80s and 90s; I've been hiking quite a bit in the last few years including longer and longer hikes and more hikes at higher altitudes so I think I was well-prepared to handle this hike without any major difficulties and I found this hike to be hard more for the pure length (my longest hike to date in terms of distance and San Jacinto has been my longest hike in terms of duration); I didn't experience any altitude issues and it wasn't windy or too frigid which I hear it can get this time of year

Details:
Distance- 16.2 miles (I think people who have recorded longer distances usually are tracking it on watches and I have noticed people who use that come up with inaccurate distances)
Difficulty- Strenuous because of distance more than steep incline
Duration- 7.5 hrs (4.5 up, 2.5 down, with a half hour at the top)
Elevation Gain- 4,700 ft
Peak Elevation- 10,649
*a hiking permit is no longer needed for this if you are doing a day hike

Great cool day to go to the summit. The trail Limber Pine Spring had water at the second location at the corner of the switchback. It was covered with Ice, but the water was flowing. There is also packed snow and ice patches about 1/2 a mile to the summit. I ended up using microspikes for the last 100-200 meters due to the ice and steep grade. You might not need them, but I didn't want to risk an injury that far from the trailhead.

This is one of the most beautiful trails that I have hiked in SoCal. It was not crowded at all. There was snow and ice for the last 2 miles on the trail. It took me 4 hours to hike up and 3 hours to return. I highly recommend some microspikes or poles because of the ice and snow. Hopefully with the warmer and dryer weather over the next week will melt everything before next weekend for the next round of hikers!

Absolutely loved this hike on a perfect fall day! Hiked first weekend of October...do be aware that temps towards the peak are definitely in the colder range...bring layers...I found I didn't need warm gear for the first 6 miles and then swapped in some warmer gear for the last two to the summit and an additional vest and hat for the first two miles back down. Also note this is a solid 16 mile trail not the 15.1 the description states. Yes the road in to the trail head is partially washed out/not in the best shape...was able to drive it fine with a Honda Fit just took it slow and had no problems.

Beautiful day hike especially for those who are willing to take on a challenge while avoiding crowds it’s very rare to see another person on this trail don’t forget to stop about .7 of mile from the summit for a exceptional view and a cool make shift bench out of stone that is excellent for a photo to compliment the adventure you just took

One of the prettiest hikes I have done. It has a gradual incline so not so bad, About a mile in a half before the Peak vear to the right and you will see a cement bench with incredible views! This is a popular trail so parking was filling up fast around 6:00 am but it was gonna be a warm day. Highly recommend...

Jason G.

hiking

5 months ago

Hiked on Friday 9/21/18. Beautiful hike and very well maintained trail. Lots of different mileage estimates out there, but definitely more than 15.1 miles — my best estimate is 15.8 miles. Elevation gain is 4,719 feet from the parking lot. Leave early! You’ll appreciate the cool of the early morning. Take at least 3 or 4 liters of water, but there was at least 1 small stream (needs to be treated or filtered) on the trail still running, about halfway to summit. The approach dirt road is very rutted now, I would not recommend taking it with a low clearance vehicle. Saw mountain lion prints on the trail on the way up. Windy at various spots, but not at the summit the day I hiked it.

My fav of the Six pack of peaks SoCal, its #4 for me. Didn't really feel the elevation gain due to the gradual switchbacks. Left close to 6:30 am last Saturday and finished at 1:30 pm. Really windy at the top. Dress accordingly. Not very busy. Follow the hiking guys directions to find parking. Frontage road past fire station, turn right, go 4 wheeling for 1/4 mile. Not alot of parking so get there early. San Jacinto Peak is next. The full 19 miles!

Hiked on September 15th. Great trail conditions. I recommend driving a car with a high ground clearance as the third of the mile from highway 38 to the trailhead is not paved and deeply rutted with large rocks sticking out. A wind breaker will come in handy too. I hiked to Limber Pine this time but hope to make it all the way up next time.

Trail is open, I hiked it 9-8-18 and there were lots of others out there as well. My GPS did not take me straight to road to the trailhead, I had to go up a side road past the fire station to find it. From there, it was a really bumpy dirt road. I was glad I had my SUV. Parking is limited. The entire trail is at a pretty steady incline with multiple steep sections mixed in. A lot of it is completely exposed to the sun. Bring plenty of water. I usually don’t wear sunscreen but wish I had on this trail. There is a view point about 2 miles from the summit with spectacular views of baldy, Gorgonio & plenty of others. Definitely worth a stop. There are also quite a few sections surrounded by bushes with prickly ball things so it you take a pup, check their feet often or bring dog boots. Did this hike the day after Gorgonio (not recommended) so my times were terrible but we started around 830am, summited around 145pm and got back to the car at 645pm.